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Popular RootsTech 2018 Announces Free Online Broadcast Schedule

Mark your calendars! RootsTech, the world’s largest family history and technology conference, happening February 28 to March 3, 2018, announced its free live online streaming schedule. It will broadcast 19 of its popular sessions, including former Olympic gold-medalist Scott Hamilton; Brandon Stanton, founder of the Humans of New York photo blog; host of the popular PBS show Finding Your Roots, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; NataliaLafourcade, internationally recognized singer songwriter; and Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International. The live broadcasts give those unable to attend in-person a sampling of the show's marquee content. Interested viewers can watch the select broadcasts live at RootsTech.org. No registration is required to view the live streams.

"RootsTech 2018 offers over 300 sessions for those able to attend in-person," said Tyler Stahle, RootsTech marketing manager. "However, the 19 sessions we will live stream for free will expand the show's reach and give more people the opportunity to participate remotely in this world class conference." In 2017, streaming sessions garnered more than 50,000 views, and that number continues to grow each year.

The streamed sessions will include the popular general sessions and a sampling of technology and family history presentations appealing to varied interests.

RootsTech Live Streaming Schedule

Watch at RootsTech.org. No registration is required to view the live streams. All times are in Mountain Standard Time (MST).

Explore 20 ways to effectively do your family history in as little as 5 minutes a day.

Deborah Gamble

11:00 a.m.

DNA: One Family, One World

(Sponsored by Living DNA)

A new project by Living DNA is mapping the world's DNA, building one world family tree through genetics. Gain insight into how this will impact your family history.

David Nicholson

1:30 p.m.

Organizing and Preserving Photograph Collections

Step-by-step direction in organizing, preserving, and cataloging photo collections for future generations and identifying, digitizing, and sharing collections using family trees and social media.

Ari Wilkins

3:00 p.m.

Finding the Answers: The Basics of WWII Research

Fire destroyed many US military and civilian service records. Alternative record sources exist to reconstruct service history. Learn how to research World War I and II records.

Jennifer Holik

4:30 p.m.

Wednesday General Session and Innovation Showcase

Steve Rockwood explores where industry giant, FamilySearch, has been and is going. Introduction of the all-new RootsTech Innovation Showcase.

Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International

Thursday, March 1, 2018

8:30 a.m.

Thursday General Session

Brandon Stanton started Humans of New York, a photography and storytelling blog. HONY has built a devoted following of over 20 million fans across several social media platforms.

Brandon Stanton, founder of Humans of New York

11:00 a.m.

MyHeritage DNA 101: From Test to Results

(Sponsored by MyHeritage)

Learn about the MyHeritage DNA service and how the process works, from taking the test to the lab analysis. Learn about MyHeritage DNA's over 40 ethnicities and how to optimize your DNA matches.

Yaniv Erlich

1:30 p.m.

Google Photos: Collect, Organize, Preserve, and Share

Google Photos is a powerful, free app for storing, organizing, and sharing. Learn how to edit and create photo projects and automatically add your photos to the app from digital devices.

Michelle Goodrum

3:00 p.m.

Unlocking Roman Catholic Records

The Catholic Church is essential for uncovering the lives of millions of immigrants from many nationalities. See how findmypast and the Catholic Church are working to make these records easily accessible.

Brian Donovan

4:30 p.m.

A Gift of Life: Who's Writing Your Story?

Only you can tell the real stories of love, loss, forgiveness, and change. Don't leave the task of finding the answers of your life's history to someone else. Take the time to write your life story.

Deborah Abbott

Friday, March 2, 2018

8:30 a.m.

Friday General Session

Scott Hamilton is the living example that good guys CAN finish first! He is an Olympic champion, cancer survivor, television broadcaster, speaker, author, husband/father, and eternal optimist!

Scott Hamilton, Olympic Skater

11:00 a.m.

findmypast's British and Irish Hidden Gems

(Sponsored by findmypast)

Explore some of the wonderful findmypast.com collections that can help you break down your British ancestry brick walls, go back further in your family research, and add untold color and detail to your family story.

Myko Clelland

1:30 p.m.

Finding the Right DNA Test for You

DNA testing is becoming an integral tool, but what is it and what does it do? How can DNA actually help your genealogy? If you are brand new to genetic genealogy, this is the class for you.

Jim Brewster

3:00 p.m.

How Not to Leave Your Genealogy Behind

Nobody wants their genealogy research to end up in a landfill. Hear a few horror stories of genealogy materials destroyed and how you can avoid those mistakes.

Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher

4:30 p.m.

Finding Elusive Records at FamilySearch

Learn new skills and techniques used by the experts and lesser known record identification tools and features of the FamilySearch website.

Robert Kehrer

Saturday, March 3, 2018

8:30 a.m.

Saturday General Session

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of popular PBS Finding Your Roots series, and Natalia Lafourcade, one of the most successful singers in the Latin America pop rock genre, will keynote this opening session.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Natalia Lafourcade

11:00 a.m.

Civil Registration Indexes of England and Wales

England and Wales national indexes and recent innovations at the General Register Office have opened up new possibilities and completely new indexes.

Audrey Collins

1:30 p.m.

Advancing Your Genealogy Research with DNA

(Sponsored by Ancestry)

Learn what new tools AncestryDNA has to advance your research and get more out of your DNA results.

Anna Swayne

3:00 p.m.

Pain in the Access: More Web for Your Genealogy

Library, archive, government, and specialized websites have much to offer. Discover these sites and strategies for getting more online data.

Curt Witcher

About RootsTech

RootsTech, hosted by FamilySearch, is a global conference celebrating families across generations, where people of all ages are inspired to discover and share their memories and connections. This annual event has become the largest of its kind in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants worldwide.

Comments 1 - 9 (9)

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Warren Luch

03

March

2018

I am impressed to be able to catch so much of the Roots Tech classes and lectures on line!
What a wonderful service you provide, especially as my health does not permit easy traveling from Ca to Utah.I see others have asked some of the questions I was to ask, so I say Ditto to all of those questions.
Thank you!
Warren Luch

B A Snyder

02

March

2018

na

Doug Blakley

28

February

2018

Where on the website can we do to access the printed materials for the online presentations?

Helen Bryan

21

February

2018

Will we be able to watch at a later time..I don’t want to miss any of them! Thanks so much for providing this service to all of us who are unable to attend..it is great to have access to a program that will aid me in my family work....thanks again.

Gail Gibbs

21

February

2018

How long will the streaming videos for rootstech2018 be available?

Only the original view? or for a week?

Donald Sumlar

15

February

2018

Will connect to some sessions.

Della Steineckert

14

February

2018

How, where does one obtain tickets to attend the Saturday night production for My Family, Mi Herencia?

Sharon Clay

14

February

2018

Also, will the sessions be recorded and available later?

Cindy Price

13

February

2018

Will these live stream classes be available to watch at a later time, if we cannot watch live? Thank you for providing this service.